Malaysian jet search enters most intensive phase

April 5, 2014 - 14:47 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has entered its most intensive phase yet as dozens of planes and ships continue to scour the southern Indian Ocean, BBC News reports.

Up to 13 planes and 11 ships are taking part on Saturday, Australian officials coordinating the search said.

Ships with advanced locator technology are trying to find the plane's data recorders before their batteries fade.

The plane disappeared on March 8 and was carrying 239 people. It is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, although no confirmed debris has been found.

It is still not known why the plane diverted from its planned flight path from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing,

The search is being coordinated by the Australian government's Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) from the city of Perth in Western Australia.

In a statement, JACC said the focus was now on a search area of about 217,000 sq km (84,000 sq miles), 1,700 km (1,000 miles) northwest of Perth.

Two ships with locator capabilities are searching a 240km (150 mile) path in a bid to retrieve the data recorder.

Australian naval vessel Ocean Shield is using a towed pinger locator device from the U.S. Navy, while HMS Echo, which had similar capabilities, was also searching.

They are trying to detect an underwater signal emitted by the data recorders.

But on Friday, April 4, Australia's search chief Angus Houston said it was a race against time as the battery-powered signal fades after 30 days.

Ships sighted a number of objects in the area but none were associated with the missing plane, the coordination agency said.

ACM Houston said that the area had been picked on the basis of analysis of the satellite data.